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I am an orthopedic surgeon from Iran, when I graduated after four years of training for orthopedic surgery, I knew how to operate, however; there were a lot that I was not trained for.

I started my first surgery and noticed the OR staff do not follow my instructions during the surgery! I had to manage the team and lead them but I was not trained for leadership. In the first months of my practice I discovered how important it is to connect and communicate effectively with the patients.

The independent practice was a whole new world that besides being a medical expert I needed a lot of other skills that directly affected the quality of care that I provided to my patients.

The Royal college of physicians and surgeons of Canada has a framework for the skills that are necessary for any physician and competencies that need to be met before graduation. The skills are centered around medical expert. This skills are called Intrinsic CanMEDS roles and include collaborative, communicator, leadership, professionalism, health advocate and scholar.

The Orthopedic surgery program at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences does not offer any formal training on CanMEDS roles and surgery residents are very busy and work under a lot of stress so finding time for training of these skills is an issue. My suggestion to address this educational dilemma is an online course that residents can complete on their own pace.

Follow me on my journey to evolve this educational dilemma.